cable

It’s not often that I need a cross-over Ethernet cable any more, since more networking gear has Auto-MDX on most ports, but every now and again I do need to dig out a cross-over cable. I usually can’t find one, and need to crimp a new one together, which I promptly lose when I’m done with it. If this happens to you, or if you happen to need an ATM cross-over cable or a T1… Read More

I’ve been living without cable since i got out of college. I have a decent television that is used solely for watching movies. Originally, those were DVDs. But last year I finally hooked up a Mac Mini to my TV, and now I enjoy Netflix Streaming and the occasional episode of something from Hulu. With Hulu Plus coming soon, and old favorites like Boxee, Amazon Video on Demand, and more does… Read More

A young man rang Charter Cable to cancel his cable TV connection and maintain his Internet connection. Why? Because cable TV is an anathema to this generation’s vision of media consumption and/or it sucks. So he calls Charter and Charter informs him that he has to pay a $10 no-cable fee and he is told that soon Charter and the rest of the cable companies will control all streaming… Read More

I’ve been angling to get rid of my TiVo and cable for some time now and I believe I’ve finally figured out a solution that works best for me. It involves a lots scripting, Sabnzbd, and HandbrakeCLI and I’ll tell you what I ultimately did next week once it’s stable but it seems to be working as well as can be expected for these sorts of hacks.
I posit that the TV industry… Read More

Comcast is preparing to launch their new service, Homepoint, which will provide a VoIP handset with integration to email, news, weather, and other services. Wait, doesn’t my mobile already do that? Read More

Last year, overall satisfaction with television providers was at the lowest level in 5 years. It seems however, that when J.D. Power tells the providers that they suck, they listen. And now, they seem to have actually turned it around. Read More

Looks like Time Warner cable subscribers may someday get the option of the TiVo interface on their DVR boxes. According to Bloomberg, “TiVo is in talks to provide service through Time Warner Cable Inc.” although nothing specific has really been revealed yet. Read More

You may recall that exactly one week ago, your old buddy Doug got all bonered up about NFL Network and Comcast finally reaching an amicable agreement. In particular, it was starting to sound like Comcast subscribers would not only get NFL network at no extra charge, but that we’d also get the very-excellent Red Zone Channel for free as well. I mentioned that it “seems way too good… Read More

It’s a sad fact that often the only face a content provider has to a customer is the lowly cable installer. It seems that more often than not, said installer is not the best representative to what could be a good company. Of course, I’m not saying all installers will set fire to a house, sleep on a customers couch, or perform a sloppy install, but when those infractions happen… Read More

Latest Crunch Report

DISH announced today a net loss of 25,000 customers. The company blamed the loss of subscribers on a combination of economic factors and stiffening competition. Wall Street reacted unfavorably, sending the shares down in early trading. The stock price made up lost ground as the day went on.
Craig Moffett, analyst at Bernstein Research, said:
This is not pretty. It’s the first ever loss… Read More

Look for Verizon to start infiltrating select NYC neighborhoods in the “coming weeks” while they deploy their fiber-optic network. The telco giant has received approval from the New York State Public Service Commission to start selling its FiOS cable TV service in New York.
As Verizon FiOS is 100% fiber-optic all the way to your home, expect the transition to take some time. It… Read More

Comcast, Verizon, and Time Warner Cable are all sniping at each other, emphasizing the minor advantages their overpriced service has over the competitor’s overpriced service. They’re trading whiny potshots over whether the fiber goes to the house, what “compression” means, and so on, when they should be doing that other stuff cable companies do, like throttling my… Read More

This is a little out of left field, but it could also be interesting. Time Warner Cable is planning on releasing a set-top box to its customers with a built-in cable modem to allow them to watch “Internt TV” on their televisions.
The thing is, there’s no additional information on what this might be. Time Warner already has set-top cable boxes with full digital and HD… Read More

Your friendly cable company may soon be carrying the SlingModem, a combination SlingBox and DOCSIS 2.0-certified cable modem. Basically, you’d only have to connect one coax cable to the box and you’d get your internet access, plus you’d be able to sling the cable signal right out of the gate. Sounds cool, I guess.
SlingModem is one of Sling Media’s newest… Read More

In an earnings call today Time Warner reported that it was planning to spin off its Cable holdings, “under the right circumstances.” No specifics were noted but Time Warner Cable is obviously bolted on to the weak AOL and TW media holdings and not quite the best fit for a media company in the first place, synergy be damned. TWC had a $771 million in profit last quarter, which is… Read More

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Verizon’s petitioning the FCC to make it easier for customers locked into cable monopolies to leave in favor of similar services offered by ISPs, such as Verizon itself.
Verizon, AT&T, and others offer TV via data, an alternative to cable, and Verizon feels that customers much jump through too many hoops to switch as it is.
In essense… Read More

[photopress:hdcomcast.jpg,full,center]Rarely do I give Comcast praise, but today I feel I must. The cable company monopoly will be adding six new HD channels to its catalog in March, just in time for my birthday, and they’re good ones! Well, most of them.
Those of you who are still using standard definition need to seriously think about your futures. You’re holding the rest of us… Read More

http://progressive.playstream.com/playstream/progressive/flashplayers/FLVPlayer.swf
Here’s a quick first look at the Comcast + TiVo interface that’s recently become available in the Boston area.
Pros: Way better than the alternative Comcast DVR interface from 1982, it’s TiVo, dual tuner + HD for about what you’d pay per month for TiVo except you don’t have to… Read More

Comcast is busy installing TiVo-equipped boxes here in the Boston area today. I’ve been waiting patiently since 11:30. It’s now a little after 1:30 and this screen’s been up for the past hour with no end in sight. Come on, TiVo! You can do it, buddy! Read More

I’ll be damned, they’re actually doing it.
Time Warner will be testing out a pay-for-what-you-use program for its high speed Internet service in Beaumont, Texas. This, based on findings that about 5 percent of the network’s users account for more than half the bandwidth.
Here’s the problem, though. What happens when all the high-bandwidth users leave for the… Read More